SCRAP WESTERN EXTENSION AFTER FIRST SIGNS OF RISE IN CONGESTION - POPE

12.10.01pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 30th Jun 2006

Commenting on TfL's fourth Annual Report on congestion charging, Liberal Democrat Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, Geoff Pope, said:

"The report is clear that delays in the Congestion-Charge Zone are rising again, despite the introduction of higher charges.

'While his congestion charging scheme was a good move, further work is urgently needed if we are to stay ahead of the game. The congestion charge honeymoon is clearly over and Ken should halt his plans for a Western extension. This only encourages residents to drive their Chelsea tractors into central London, making congestion even worse.

'Many in London's business community agree that the £140 million spent on the Mayor's Western extension would have been better spent on speeding up research into new road-pricing technologies such as the 'tag and beacon'. Instead, drivers will be stuck fuming in stationary queues for another 3 years before anything is done."

ENDS

Notes to the Editors:

1. Transport for London's Central London Congestion Charging [Impacts Monitoring] Fourth Annual Report was published today.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/cclondon/pdfs/FourthAnnualReportFinal.pdf

2. Observed excess delays during charging hours for 2005 are around 1.8 minutes per km, compared to 1.6 minutes per km for both 2003 and 2004. [Delays were 2.3 mins per km before congestion charging was introduced.] (p42)

3. Average delays in 2005 (six surveys) in the Charging Zone give a reduction of 22% against pre-charging values. Equivalent delay values for 2003 and 2004 represented reductions of 30% over pre-charging conditions in 2002. [p43]

4. "Long-run trends in congestion..suggest gradual deterioration over the last 10-20 years. The introduction of congestion charging interrupted this trend in central London, reducing congestion by 30% almost overnight, but the observations for 2004 and 2005 ..imply that the long term trend is reasserting itself." (p49)

5. Statement from Jo Valentine, Chief Executive of London First:

"The extension is the wrong solution for business and threatens an already fragile retail economy. Instead, the Mayor should ask TfL to develop a pilot for a London-wide road pricing scheme. Wasting time and money on the western extension is not the solution."

6. Average speeds for main roads in inner London have declined "from about 23 kilometres per hour in the early 1990s to about 20 kph in 2005." (p49)